Together for Meme

Support for Meme: A Journey of Healing

Since March 26th, 2025, our beloved Meme has been in an induced coma, fighting one of the most difficult battles of her life. She was first admitted to Newport Hospital after experiencing severe breathing difficulties. It quickly became clear that she needed sedation to allow her lungs the rest they desperately required. At the root of these complications was her thyroid—many of you know Meme’s long battle with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid gland and is the leading cause of hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). While she has been managing it with hormone therapy since her teenage years, recent changes, combined with an illness, placed her body under immense strain.

Meme arrived at Newport Hospital in acute respiratory failure, requiring an emergency cricothyrotomy. However, due to swelling in her throat caused by lung and thyroid inflammation, the procedure resulted in a smaller, higher-placed cric tube. By Thursday morning, Meme was life-flighted to Salem Hospital, where she was met with an incredible medical team committed to her recovery. Since then, we've been navigating new hurdles daily, adjusting her thyroid levels, inflammation, pain, sedation, pneumonia, along with addressing collapsed lower lungs. It has been a slow, painstaking healing process.

But there is hope. When Meme arrived, she required 100% ventilator support to breathe. Today, just one week later, she is at 55% oxygen, a milestone that fills us with cautious optimism. Tomorrow, we anticipate a tracheostomy procedure with better placement, which will allow for a more stable, effective airway and improved oxygen support. If all goes well, her medical team will begin waking her up—a step toward reconnecting with her children; Hannah and Logan, her family, and the countless people who love her.

These days have been full of setbacks but also small victories. Healing is slow. Watching and waiting has been difficult. But Meme is strong, and so is our faith in her recovery.

However, the road ahead is long. Meme will require extensive medical care and rehabilitation, and immediate financial expenses are accumulating. We humbly ask for any support you can offer—not just for Meme but for the family members who have taken time away from work to stay by her side, traveling daily to Salem to ensure she is never alone.

Your kindness, prayers, and generosity mean everything to us. Meme is a fighter, and she can continue this fight!